Polys v.s Subdiv

[Graylight]

Im somewhat new to Maya and I am trying to build the ironman suit. I'm not very good with nurbs but I am with polygons and im trying to figure out Subdiv. I looked into it because I could make creases to give the suit sharp edges with smooth faces.

After messing with it a bit I found that it was just easier to make more polygons on my basic mesh then smooth it to get the sharp edges.

Is this a smart way to model? If not, why don't I see sub meshes?

I know modeling is an important step so i want to get that right before I start textures and animations.

Thanks

[ShadowMaker SdR]

The whole trick to Subdiv modeling is to use as little polygons on your base model as you can get away with and then let the actual subdivision do it's magic. With some well placed edges you can get very sharp edges. Just search out some tutorials on the matter and work on some boxes etc. before trying to tackle a whole Iron Man suit.